


Rhythm and Rhyme

by seori



Category: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Forum: Goldenlake, Malorie's Peak Prompt, Married Life, Series: The Immortals (Tamora Pierce)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 13:43:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14812458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seori/pseuds/seori
Summary: Kalasin and Kaddar find marriage a learning experience - some lessons are more pleasant than others. Multiple fluffy one-shots, loosely linked, all written for various Fief Goldenlake exchanges and prompts.





	1. Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their wedding, Kaddar and Kalasin try to learn a little bit more about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Rachy at Fief Goldenlake's Secret Admirer Exchange.

Kalasin was almost used to waking up in Carthak, with the room already stifling. She was almost used to turning the pillow over for the cool side.

She was not used to waking up with a husband in her bed.

"Good morning," Kaddar murmured, her stirring having roused him. She watched in mild fascination as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. A husband. She had a husband now. A sleepy-eyed, handsome, careful husband, somehow more hers in this moment than when they had declared themselves to one another in front of thousands (probably) of witnesses the previous day. "Did you sleep well?"

"We're married," she whispered, half in awe, her eyes tracking every visible inch of him above the sheet, finding it difficult to comprehend. She hadn't shared a bed with anybody since Vania, at all of eight years old, had abruptly declared herself too grown up for sleepovers. Fortunately, the Emperor seemed to kick less than Kalasin's youngest sister had.

He chuckled, turning onto his side to face her fully, and propping himself up on his elbow. "Did that make it difficult for you to sleep?"

Yes, as it happened. Kalasin had plotted her wedding all the way through to the night-time for years. She'd thought about _this_ wedding night for the weeks following her arrival in Carthak. When they had finally reached it, however, she had been trembling so much that Kaddar had told her that they wouldn't do anything she wasn't ready for - that there was plenty of time for 'all that'. So, instead, they had gone to sleep. Or, rather, Kaddar had slept, and she had lain awake, wondering.

Kaddar was clearly not plagued by the same concerns, seeing as he was already on his feet and padding to the door. Her first thought was an appreciative one that she had the privilege of seeing the Emperor of Carthak in a _nightshirt_ , and then her second was that he seemed to be leaving. She sat up in bed, worried that it would be a good ten hours before she could have him on his own again. Her fears were allayed, however, when he reappeared seconds later with a tray of fruit and two tall glasses. "I suspected we might have been left something," he said, satisfied.

It was a little like they'd been married for years, Kalasin decided. He was treating her as though they always saw one another in such a state of undress, in such an intimate setting. Then, he snuck her an uncertain look whilst handing her one of the glasses, and she realised that perhaps he might just be adept at putting on an act.

Well, she was accustomed to putting people at their ease, wasn't she?

"Do you have much on today?" she asked politely, and could have bitten her tongue afterwards. She started every conversation with him like this; she felt as though she might have come up with something better now they were actually married.

"Only if you tire of me," he replied, eyes serious. "Yesterday felt so much like everybody else's day - I thought we could have 'our' day today."

That had been Kalasin's experience too. She'd felt like a doll trotted out for public amusement. It was comforting to know that the pomp and ceremony had also felt somewhat foreign to him. She drained her glass before saying, "I believe I could manage that."

He grinned at her. "Oh? You could make time in your schedule for your husband?"

Her husband. She was really Carthaki now - her first loyalties no longer to the country of her birth. She set the uncomfortable realisation to the side for the moment, and reached for a piece of melon. "I have to say, I'm relieved to find your servants serve you fruit. I did hear there was a time when you considered spiders a delicacy."

Kaddar stared at her, and then laughed. "When you are six, it seems a better option than sitting through your uncle's stuffy meals."

"Is that why you tried to take up a career in the kitchens?" she asked innocently, popping a fig into her mouth.

"You have a spy in my house," Kaddar lamented, though he must know her source was his mother. "Well, my empress. I am laid bare before you-" His choice of words made her blush, and she wasn't sure they were accidental. "-and you are yet an enigma to me. Will you share yourself?"

Kalasin took another fig before he removed the plate from between them, and she understood that he meant her to be sincere. She chewed her mouthful, considering her options. "Alianne of Pirate's Swoop and I once tried to make ourselves dresses out of one of my mother's ballgowns. She wasn't particularly pleased when she found us taking scissors to it." He snorted, and she smiled, relaxing back against the headboard. "When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to be exactly like Alianne's mother. I thought she was wonderful, and strong, and brave in all the ways that mattered. I thought, I could do that; I could be like that." Her voice caught slightly on the childish dream.

"Father explained to me that I was narrowing my options, that I could help so many more people if I chose a different path. He said ruling was full of sacrifices."

That made Kaddar's hand, which had been inching across the sheets towards hers, freeze. "Sacrifices?"

"Sacrifices," she repeated, closing the distance between their hands. It wouldn't do to start their first day together with miscommunication. She wanted to know him fully, and for him to know her likewise. "And rewards. Like not being able to pursue knighthood, but having that denial lead me here instead."

He knelt before her on the bed, keeping one hand entwined with hers. "I am - selfishly - glad it led you here," he said, pressing his lips to her ring.

She didn't (couldn't) answer verbally, not with the lump rising in her throat. Instead, her response came when his lips found her own, and she discovered she didn't care how hot the weather might be anymore.


	2. Negotiating Territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalasin and Kaddar have a few matters to smooth over in the early days of their marriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Fief Goldenlake's Malorie's Peak Prompt #81: Choose a Side.

"My lady - your Imperial Majesty - I implore you to reconsider. This will not do."

Kalasin rubbed at her eyes, feeling sleep-stupid for a moment. Kaddar knelt at the foot of their bed, face lit by the glow of his Gift. When he saw she was awake, he doused the fire, but she felt his presence still. "My lord will have to explain to me his meaning," she mumbled into the pillow, but she smiled, unseen.

"My meaning," Kaddar said, tracing a pattern on the sole of her foot. "My meaning is that we discussed that you would sleep on the side of the bed farthest from the door, so that if perchance I had to come to bed later than your most noble self, I would not disturb you by exhibiting all my natural grace, which some, my fair lady included, have likened to that of a baby elephant."

She bit back a laugh at that, jerking her foot away. "Sire, I have uncovered what I believe to be a most nefarious plot."

"I pray that you would divulge the details, my lady. I will not have you falling victim to foul schemes."

"That gives me great relief, my lord, except that the foul schemes appear to be of your own concoction. You see, I have made the discovery that this side of the bed appears to be the most comfortable. It is against my very nature to accuse his Imperial Majesty of any wrongdoing, but I fear I do believe you capable of designing this most grievous harm towards my innocent self."

Kalasin couldn't hear Kaddar laugh, but was almost certain he was smiling down at her in that moment. "It seems we are at an impasse, my darling wife," he said in a low tone. "You must choose between a restless sleep as a result of your most blundering husband, or an unforgiving mattress. I must impress upon you that once you choose, there will be no reneging; all decisions made in this bedchamber are completely binding."

Her heart skipped a beat. In the months of courtship, she had known that she liked Kaddar and believed he would respect her. She had never considered that their marriage might be fun. "Will my lord withdraw whilst I make the decision? I feel sure a lady should not be swayed by her husband's preferences in this matter of grave importance."

The bed shifted as he climbed off it, and she immediately spread herself out over her territory.

"My lord, I am decided."

Evidently, Kaddar had chosen to step over the edge of the bed once more, and the mattress dipped at the end to accommodate his weight. His seeking hands soon located her feet, one at either side of the bed. She had spreadeagled herself in the centre in an attempt to take up as much room as possible. "I foresee a problem with your choice, my lady. Perhaps we might negotiate?"

"I will hear your terms, my lord," Kalasin answered, shivering involuntarily as he leaned over her, having made his way up the bed. His face, she was sure, was not inches from hers.

"You are kindness itself. I intend to be most persuasive in my pleas for a little domain of my own."

Kalasin reached for him, letting her fingers trail over his shoulders. "You shall not encounter more willing ears than mine."

He pressed a light kiss to her jaw, and murmured, "'Tis not your ears I seek to please," before finding her lips.


	3. Pillow Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaddar muses on the value of choices, but Kalasin has other things on her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Goldenlake's Malorie's Peak Prompt #58: You're More Trouble than You're Worth.

"Some days, I wish we'd done things differently," Kaddar mused. At Kalasin's raised eyebrows, he grinned, and amended, "Not _those_ things. Meeting. Marriage."

Kalasin pinched one of his pillows to set on top of her pile, and leaned back against them. "Now strikes me as an odd time to say you wish you'd never met me, husband dearest."

He swatted playfully at her bare arm. "I think you know that's not what I meant either. And if you always insist on an extra pillow in the mornings, let me have one brought in for you. Then we wouldn't need you to resort to theft in the early hours."

"You are confusing my wanting more pillows with my wanting _your_ pillows," Kalasin replied, unable to keep the smile from her face. They had settled into married life so well that she was almost afraid she might be missing a trick, but no. Every day was as pleasant as the last - and the nights a great deal more so.

That elicited a groan from Kaddar. "Fine. I shall have more pillows brought in for me, and then I won't find myself having to lay my head on the bedding because you have decided to build yourself a pillow fort."

"Will you tell me now what you meant?" asked Kalasin, changing tactics, the tips of her fingers skimming down his forearm.

He stilled her hand in its now-familiar path, before it could transfer to his hip. "Either we can talk or you can have your fun, but I am afraid I do not have the concentration for both." Stalemate ensued for a few moments as dark eyes stared down blue, and then Kalasin withdrew her hand. "I thought so. I suppose I meant that I wish I had had the freedom to choose this life; to choose you."

"You wish we had taken different paths to the same place?" Kalasin's brow furrowed, unsure that she quite understood him.

"It sounds much less romantic when you put it like that."

Kalasin chuckled, and stretched her arms out in front of her, feeling her muscles burn pleasantly. "I am not entirely sure that was worth stopping me."

"Me neither," he murmured, in the low tone which always sent a shiver down her spine. Kaddar brushed his thumb along her cheekbone, and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She kept very still, allowing him to come to her. Eventually, he moved across to plant a hot, sweet kiss on her lips.

And she stole his last remaining pillow.

Kaddar jerked back, aware of something having gone wrong. As he focused on the pillow, he shook his head. "Did I really say I would have chosen the same wife? I'm beginning to think otherwise."

Kalasin smirked, and put the pillow with her collection.


	4. The Naked Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Kalasin tries to discuss her mother-in-law with Kaddar, she doesn't get the response she was expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Fief Goldenlake's Malorie's Peak Prompt #69: Just Before the Dawn.

"Your mother doesn't like me." 

Kalasin spoke into the dark of their bedroom and, for a moment, she thought Kaddar might not have heard her. Then, he sighed, breath puffing out against her face. "Kalasin, that isn't true. She told me she loathes you. Please, go back to sleep."

"You're not being very helpful."

"I'm not trying to be helpful. I'm trying to sleep," Kaddar mumbled, and she felt the mattress shift as he turned away from her.

"What happens if I get pregnant?" It was, she considered, a fair concern even in the early hours, given how far away she was from her own incomparable mother. 

Kaddar groaned, perhaps sensing that sleep was going to elude him until he had satisfied her questions. "Then she will love you, at least for as long as you are carrying my child. Assuming it is my child and I have not wasted away for want of sleep."

"Nobody ever-"

Kaddar's hand found its way across the bed-sheets (with an enjoyable detour), and settled over Kalasin's mouth. "You said that when you married me, everything would be perfect. We are married, ergo, by your own words, everything is perfect."

"Your mother was visiting her cousins," Kalasin pointed out, entirely reasonably, having peeled his fingers away. "I was not in possession of all the facts."

"Darling, my treasured wife, I assure you that my mother will dislike you exactly the same amount in the morning. We can discuss your war tactics then, but for now, the sun is about to get up, and I do not want to be greeting it till much, much later. Go to sleep, or I shall - lovingly - have you removed from these chambers."

Kalasin bit down on a smile, before she recalled that he would not be able to see it anyway. "But I'm not wearing anything."

"Then you will create quite a stir," Kaddar said, wrapping both arms around her.


	5. Home Invasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kalasin has no patience for unwelcome houseguests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Fief Goldenlake's Malorie's Peak Prompt #124: Tea and Sympathy

"This should help," Kaddar announced, settling carefully on the edge of the bed, with a steaming cup in his hands.

Kalasin gave him a fulminating glare in response. " _Nothing_ will ease the pain of your mother's visit," she retorted, pleased to see her mood had him retreating a little. This had the unfortunate side effect of taking the tea out of her reach also, but she set her gaze on it, biding her time.

"Mother has come to take care of you." Kaddar evidently judged that his placating tone had soothed her enough that there was no danger of his being splashed with boiling liquid; he placed the cup in her hands, and a kiss on her lips.

"It is most convenient that you will be out of the capital for the next three weeks," Kalasin said sourly, balancing the cup on her stomach. The swelling had to have some uses, after all. He must have come directly from the kitchens, for the tea was still too hot to drink. That, more than anything, brightened her state of mind. He was usually waylaid in the corridors by the least provocation.

He laughed, now brave enough to climb into bed beside her. She had planted herself square in the middle, and gave no inch. This left him in a mildly precarious position on the edge, but she thought that would do him good for the moment. "It is most _inconvenient_ , my lady wife. You know I would rather be here than anywhere else." He threaded his fingers through her free hand, and turned it over, kissing her palm. "I am hoping that the more I travel now, the better foundations I lay, and the more time I have to spend with my family later."

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She tried to blink them away, and took a sip of honeyed tea to distract herself. "I'm going to set up a new school," she informed Kaddar, who groaned on cue. "I think this one will have to be close to the palace. It's the best course of action, in my condition."

In her condition, of course, the best thing to do would be to quietly maintain her current projects, but they had now been married long enough that Kaddar - wise through experience - did not mention this. Nor did he reference how his mother would react, though they were both well aware (also through experience). Instead, he turned onto his back, which could not have been a comfortable position given the lack of bed space available to him, and held their still-linked hands over his heart. "That seems practical. Who do you have in mind to lead the school?"

Since this was only a recent thought, Kalasin of course did not have anybody specific in mind, but she mentioned Tivon, often her partner in crime in such matters.

"Well, I came to offer what comfort I could, but I believe the real war is going to be waged in Carthak City after all. It seems you will be entirely too busy to note the absence of your undeserving husband."

Kalasin smiled, drinking her tea whilst she still had the opportunity. "Indeed. Only teach somebody the trick you have with my tea, and I may hardly think of you." She leaned over, peering down into his face with mock-contemplation. "Who would have thought the Emperor of Carthak would be so... easy to replace?"

It galvanised him into action, as intended. The cup went first, left to grow cold by the side of the bed like so many of its predecessors. "Replaceable, is it?" he murmured, his lips inches from hers. "I see that I shall have to endeavour to make an impression so that my lady might think of me across the miles."

Later, in a burst of low-voiced tenderness, she would tell him just how much she expected to miss him, somehow this time more than the rest, but for now, she let him work for every smile and caress, every inch of exposed flesh. He deserved it, after all, for allowing his mother to invade their home.


End file.
